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Zambia.
Wild Zambia Safari

Days 1 - 2: Victoria Falls, Livingstone

Your African adventure begins as you are met and warmly greeted at the Livingstone airport in Zambia. Enjoy a guided tour of Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, which straddles the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Watch as the mighty Zambezi River, forced through a fissure, cascades down 300 hundred vertical feet. The spray from the falls can be powerful from May – July so be prepared for getting wet. One afternoon take a boat cruise on the upper Zambezi where you can watch the sunset with a drink in hand.

Day 4: South Luangwa National Park

After early morning coffee around the campfire set off with your guide and armed tracker on a morning walking safari* looking for elephant herds and other resident wildlife. Investigate tracks and watch for warthogs, reedbuck and impala. The Luwi area is also famous for its lions and the thrill of tracking them on foot is an experience not to be missed. After about three to four hours of easy walking return to camp for a hearty brunch and spend the heat of the day in the shade, resting as the wildlife does. In the afternoon head out on another walking safari or game drive, looking for elephant herds and watching hippos and crocodiles from the camp’s hide, where you’ll finish the day with a sundowner.

*Note: While the areas surrounding the camps are prime for safari by foot a specially outfitted safari vehicle is available to conduct game drives and access other areas of the national park.

Day 3: South Luangwa National Park

Depart Livingstone and fly to the South Luangwa Valley, enjoying a bird’s eye view of the dramatic rift valley escarpment topography. Arriving in Mfuwe you’ll be met by your expert guide and delve deeper into the South Luangwa National Park. This area is Zambia’s premier National Park and one of the greatest wildlife sanctuaries in the world. The concentration of game along the Luangwa River and its associated ox-bow lagoons is amongst the most intense anywhere in Africa – it is truly an unspoilt wilderness.

The flat, wildlife rich environs of the South Luangwa are ideal for walking safaris and the guides are unmatched in their tracking and wildlife knowledge. Your guides at Luwi and Nsolo were recently voted as the best walking safari guides in Africa and follow in a great tradition of South Luangwa guides who know the land intimately as well as the wildlife who lives there. Take an afternoon game drive on your way to camp and overnight at intimate Luwi Bushcamp, where four tents sit under the shade of huge mahogany trees on the seasonal Luwi River.

Day 5: Walking Safari to Nsolo Bushcamp

Another walking safari begins this morning and after brunch you’ll pack up and begin the 5 mile walk from Luwi Bushcamp to Nsolo Bushcamp. Wild dogs have denned between Luwi and Nsolo for the last 6 years and chances of seeing these elusive creatures are high. Leopard also abound in the area as well as herds of buffalo, Thornicroft giraffe, and Cookson’s wildebeest, the last two endemic to the South Luangwa National Park. Overnight in one of 4 reed and thatch chalets at Nsolo Bushcamp. Note: The transfer between camps can also be done by safari vehicle if preferred.

Up for an adventure? Ask about the Return to the Wild. It’s an evening spent fly-camping under the stars in the middle of the Park. Camp fires warn off nocturnal visitors while a scout and a guide keep watch.

Day 6: South Luangwa National Park

A final day of walking safaris takes us along the Luwi River. Various lion pride territories overlap in this area and the cats use the dry riverbed as a thoroughfare and a means not only of locating their prey as they come to drink but also of locating their rivals who must be warned to stay away. Look for prints in the sand and take the time to listen for calls of baboons as they alert their troop to the presence of a predator. Soak in the sounds, smells and the atmosphere of the bush as you become a part of it. Enjoy a last Luangwa sundowner this evening before retiring to your room at Nsolo Bushcamp.

Day 7: Lower Zambezi National Park

Drive this morning from Nsolo back to Mfuwe for your flight to Lusaka and on to the Royal Airstrip in the Lower Zambezi National Park. Declared a National Park in 1983, Lower Zambezi lies across the river from Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park and was a private game reserve of Zambia’s president. With nearly 1500 sq miles of habitat not counting the much larger game management areas that surround the park, there is plenty of room for wildlife to roam and very few people with whom to share your game viewing. Upon arrival you’ll be met by staff of Kasaka River Lodge and transferred to your tent overlooking the Zambezi. Overnight at Kasaka River Lodge (standard) or Chongwe River Camp (deluxe).

Days 8-9: Lower Zambezi National Park

Spend two days exploring the Zambezi National Park with a naturalist guide. Take a canoeing excursion with the Zambian mountains as a backdrop to look for hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and plains game as they come down to the water to drink. Opt for a morning or full day game drive in the park and watch for lions, buffalo, antelopes, wild dog, and leopards in trees. Night game drives reveal nocturnal creatures such as porcupines, civet, genet, and honeybadgers. If you like to fish (or even if you don’t!) you should try tiger fishing. This is the best location in all of Africa to catch these feisty , as it’s always a thrill to catch your first fish. Overnights at Kasaka River Lodge (standard) or Chongwe River Camp (deluxe).

Day 10: Departure

Say goodbye to Zambia as you transfer this morning to the Royal airstrip for your flight to Lusaka (included) connecting to your international departing flight. Ask about an extension to cosmopolitan Cape Town, Lake Malawi, Botswana’s Okavango Delta or the mountain gorillas of Rwanda.